Right wing officials in Italy remove prayer rugs from Turin city hall

ROME: A move by two Italian councilmen who removed the prayer rugs from Turin city hall ahead of the Muslim conference sparked outrage.

The councilmen, Roberto Carbonero and Fabrizio Ricca, members of the anti-immigrant party Northern League, or Lega Nord, were criticized by local leaders in the Italian government who feared the influence of a growing far-right, xenophobic movement countrywide and across Europe, the Local reported.

“It’s not as if people build a chapel whenever there’s a Christian conference,” La Stampa reported one of the councilman as saying, according to the Local. Both Carbonero and Ricca insisted they were not racist. Tweet shows the councilmen removing the prayer rugs:

The incident was “an arbitrary and violent act,” said Michele Paolino of the Democratic Party. Many other democratic leaders have rallied to the sides of Muslims in the community, condemning the actions of these two men.

The incident in Turin was not the first time where a Northern League politician has acted against Muslims in an explicit way.